Machado returns to Venezuela as Rubio credits US-backed talks

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the Trump administration told Venezuela’s interim authorities “weeks and weeks ago” that opposition leader María Corina Machado must be allowed to return, as she arrived home after months in exile.

Rubio told reporters on a call that the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez replied that Machado was free to enter the country, The Associated Press reported. Machado returned over the weekend ahead of possible elections next year.

“She should be allowed to return unperturbed,” Rubio said.

Crowds greet her

Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, greeted supporters in Caracas and in Barquisimeto on Sunday. “I’m here, with you,” she posted on X, confirming her return after about 10 months abroad.

She left Venezuela late last year in a clandestine operation to travel to Oslo to collect her Nobel prize, Bloomberg reported. Her team thanked President Donald Trump and Rubio for their support.

Rubio credits reconciliation talks

In a post on X on Sunday, Rubio said the conditions for Machado’s safe return were “the direct result of the U.S. supported reconciliation talks.” He said those talks had already led to the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the return of hundreds of opposition figures from exile.

Rubio called on all political actors in Venezuela to support the talks, which he described as the best chance the country has had in 30 years to achieve a free and fair election and an enduring democracy.

Trump also weighed in. “I hope she’s safe,” he said, adding that “we’re doing really well in Venezuela.”

Past friction

Rubio said the United States had not discouraged Machado from returning except immediately after devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela in June. He denied that Washington was responsible for obstacles she has described in trying to return by air and land, attributing the difficulties to third countries.

Machado’s repeated efforts to return had caused friction with the State Department. In July, after the earthquakes, administration officials criticized her public push to go home during the relief effort, Axios reported. U.S. policy had officially been neutral on her return.

Some analysts say her presence in the country could complicate the administration’s strategy, which has focused on negotiating with the interim government led by Rodríguez. Machado is not a party to those talks.

Elections ahead

Machado has called for elections in 2027 and has praised Trump for what she called his support for Venezuelan freedom. The interim government confirmed her entry as electoral reforms move forward.

The opposition coalition said it would continue participating in the talks “without interruption” until Venezuela achieves a real and sustainable democracy.

Prediction markets have been skeptical that a presidential election will be scheduled quickly. Venezuela’s oil sector has also become a focus of U.S. policy, with Trump touting Venezuelan oil at campaign rallies ahead of the midterms.

Rubio said Washington expects the freedoms of all political sectors in Venezuela to continue to be respected. Supporters of the administration’s approach argue that steady pressure on the interim government has produced concrete gains, including prisoner releases, that years of isolation did not.

Machado is widely seen as the main opposition counterweight to the movement built by former President Nicolás Maduro. Her ability to campaign freely is likely to be an early test of the interim government’s commitment to an open election.